Storage bin



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Patented Nov. 25, 1930 E STATES PATENT owes" ARTHURP. SKAERQQF UFFALO,NEWYORK; hss-ienon To RIC 2. MUN'IZ, or

BUFFAIJO, NEW YORK QSTDORJAGEIIBIN Application filed April 15, Thisinvention relates to a storagetrestle which. is. more particularlydesigned for shifting coal from railway cars to trucks or wagons,but thesame is equally serviceable J for transferringother loose material oflike character from'railway cars to transporting vehicles. a s i y Inthehandlingof coal it is essential to save the same from degradation byreduction in size and generation of screening as muchaspossible,;and:fo-r this reason the coal should drop a minimum distancewhen discharged into the bins from railway cars running over the top ofthe same. s

Inasmuch asthe cost of a trestle for carrying rail-ways is considerableand increases very rapidly as the height increases and also cluetothe'longer approach which isnecessary in proportion to the increasedheight, it is desirable to keep the storagebins as low as possible,toprovide large capacity, and permit trucks to pass under, and alongthe. side for loading purposes and also enable means to be employedwhereby the coal is dito screen the material duringsuch transfer.

It is, therefore, the object of this invention to provide a railwaytrestle for storing coal andthe like which is comparatively low andeconomical in cost ofconstruction, which has agreater'bincapacity forthe amount expended in construction, and which provides adequateclearance for the trucks to beloaded and theusual equipment employed fortransferring. the coal from the bin to the trucks. and screening thesame in transit.

In the accompanying drawings -Figure1 is a fragmentaryverticallongitudinal section of a. storage trestle for coal and the likeembodying'one form of my in-f of the vention. 7 v

Figure 2 is a vertical cross section same taken on line 22 Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of another form of storagetrestle containing my improvements. a

Figure 4 is a vertical transversesection of the same taken on line 4-Fig. 3.

tionsshowing otherlforms of my invention.

,paratively high; by driving the same along rected from the bin outletsto the trucks and anddapproved 1113111161350 as to resist the 1 strainsto-which the concrete is subjected and 1 thereby strengthen the same. Ha The supports 12 may be of any suitable 1929. Serial No. 355,046. b

v In the followingdescription similar charactersof reference indicatelike parts the several figures of the drawings.

I In its general organization a this trestle comprises a plurality ofelevated bins or pockets 1.0 whichare open at the top soas to permit ofdumping coal; or likematerialinto the upper ends of these bins, fromrailway carswhich run upon roadways or railway I tracks llarrangedlengthwise over the bins, e0 andfa plurality of supports 12 mounted onthe ground and carryingth e bins on the underside sons to permit ofjdelivery trucksor Wagons 13 .to be either driven betweenlthe i supports12 andu'nder the bins for loading the trucks, which are comparativelylow, as shown in Figiql and also permitting the loading of larger trucksl t which are comthe sideFof the bins, as shown in Fig; 5, these methodsof loading .beinggenerally referred to drive under-loading? and-sideload 1ng., 5 I w Each. of the bins or pockets, as showmfor example, inFigs. 1 and 2, comprises two transverse walls 15 which serveas bentsupon the upper edges of which the railway tracks '11 aremounted,twolongitudinal side walls 16. connecting the corresponding edges of thetransverse walls, and a bottom 17 which connects the lower ends ofthetransverse and side walls and is curved upwardly on a transverse axisso .as to form an archwhich is depressed at "its oppositetransverseends, and elevated centrally between these transverse ends.These transverse and. side wallsand the bottom of the bin are made ofconcrete which isreinforced by [metal bars 18 em bedded within theconcrete inany suitable form, but inthe preferred construction thesupport for the underside of each transverse wall15 consists of twocolumns of concrete whichare spaced apart transversely so as i i stosupportthis wall and the bin of whichit Figures 5 and 6 are verticaltransverse secif orms a" part adjacent to opposite ends thereof. A

In actual practice a plurality of such bins are arranged to form alongitudinal row, and each of the transverse walls 15 serves as apartition between two adjacent bins in the usual and well-known mannerof constructing trestles of this character.

In the preferred construction two railways are arranged side by sidelengthwise over the series of bins and the bottom of each bin or hopperis provided with means for discharging the contents thereof at differentpoints so as to permit of loading one or more trucks or wagons under thedrive under system and also one or more trucks or wagons under the sideloading system.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the arch shaped bottom of each bin is providedat each of its depressed ends with two outlets 19 which are arrangedtransversely side by side, and each of these outlets being preferablyarranged vertically in line with one of the railroad tracks 11 above thebin, as shown in Fig. 2.

In order to avoid making the trestle unduly high the arch forming thebottom 17 is made comparatively flat and the same is stiffened by meansof reinforced longitudinal ribs or webs 20 extending downwardly atopposite longitudinal edges thereof, thereby forming a concave space onthe under side of each bottom or floor of a bin which floor also formsthe roof of the truck driveway extending transversely underneath eachbin.

Inasmuch as a comparatively flat formation of the arch shaped bottom orfloorof the bin would prevent emptying the bin completely, and insteadpermit some of the material to remain lying upon the top of the floorbetween the outlet openings at the depressed ends of the arched floor,means are provided which will prevent the coal or other material fromlodging upon the central elevated part of the floor and compel the sameto flow toward said outlets when the latter are opened. These meanspreferably consist of an upwardly projecting longitudinal defiector 21mounted upon the upper side of the elevated central part of the fioorand preferably constructed of concrete of upwardly tapering form so asto produce two longitudinal inclines 22 which slope lengthwise inopposite directions from the highest central part of this deflectortoward the outlets 19 in the depressed ends of the floor, as shown inFig. 1.

This deflector 21 is preferably formed on the upper side of the floorafter the latter has been finished, and in order to form a good jointbetween opposite transverse edges of this deflector 21 and the floor ofthe respective bin the latter is provided on opposite sides of theelevated central part with transverse shoulders 23 which face each otherand which are engaged by the opposite transverse edges of the deflector,as shown in Fig. 1, thereby holding the latter against lengthwisemovement on the floor of the bin.

This deflector and the floor are united so that they practically form anintegral structure by means of cement applied to the opposing surfacesthereof.

In order to prevent the coal or other material from lodging upon theupper side of the floor between the adjacent pair of outlets 19 at thesame depressed end of the floor, a central transverse deflector 24,which is also made of concrete and of upwardly tapering form, is mountedon the respective part of the floor so as to produce two oppositelyinclined surfaces 25 which slope from the high central part of thisdeflector transversely in opposite directions toward the outlets 19, asshown in Fig. 2.

Similar deflectors 26 made of concrete are arranged upon the oppositeside ends of the bin floor so that each of these deflectors is arrangedbetween one of the side walls 16 of the bin and the adjacent outlet 19,and is provided with an inclined upper surface 17 which slopes from therespective side wall to the adjacent outlet and thereby causes any coalor other material in the respective part of thebin to be directed towardthis outlet when the latter is opened.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that by the addition of thesedeflectors any material within the bin will be directed to-"es ward theoutlets in the floor whenthe latter are opened and thereby permit ofcompletely emptying the bin when this is required.

Any suitable means may be provided for A controlling the outlets of thebin but it is pref 1 erable to employ for this purpose a curved gate 28in this outlet which is pivotally mounted in the side walls thereof soas to be capable of being turned about a horizontal transverse axis bymeans of a handle 29 con nected with this gate. As shown at the righthand side of Fig. 1 the gate 28 is turned into its open position so asto permit the flow of coal or other material through the respectiveoutlet from the bin, while the gate 28 of the 1 outlet on the left handside of this bin is closed and therefore cuts off the escape of thismaterial.

When delivering coal from the bins into trucks or wagons it is the usualpractice to separate the dust or fine particles from the coal beforedelivering it into the trucks. In the present case similar means areprovided which preferably comprise means for guiding the coal from theoutlet to the truck and com- 1110 prise an upper screen section 30 whichis pivoted at its upper end to the outlet 19 of the bin, and a lowerchute section 31 which is pivoted at its upper end to the lower end ofthe screen section.

In the unfolded or operative position of these guiding means thescreensection 30 is lowered so as to be inclined from the outlet 19 over thetop of the boX or receptacle of the truck or wagon 13, and the chute 31inclines laterally in the opposite directionfrom the 7 lower end of thescreen toward the outer side of the truck.

may beprovided for this *purpose.

l Vhenthese guiding and screening devices are notin use, the same arefolded upwardly into the space formed by the concave-under side of thefloor, as shown at the left hand a side of Fig. 1, thereby leaving thetransverse driveway under the bin clear for the entrance and exit of thedrive under wagon which is adapted to receive the load of coal.

In order to permit of conveniently moving each of these coal guidlngmeans upwardly into their inoperative position and downsection 29 andthechute section 31, while the wardly into their operative position,counterbalancing means are provlded wh1ch preferably consist oftwoliftingcords 32, 83, one of the corresponding ends of which areconnected with the'lowered ends of the screen opposite ends thereof are'connectedwith counterbalancing weights 34 and the intermediate parts ofthese cords pass around guide rollers 35 which are mounted ontheadjacent stationary parts of the trestle, as shown in Fig. 1.

By thus utilizing the cavity or pocket formed on the underside of theupwardly arched floor in which to store the coal guid ing and screeningmeans whenthe sameare.

not in use, the trestle can be made of considerably less height andstill provide the neces-.

sary clearance for the entrance and exit of the drive undertruck, andthereby reduce the cost of erecting the trestle without sacribeing anyoperating facilities or conveniences.

When it is desired to load coal into trucks or wagons which are of suchheight that they cannot pass transversely under the bottom of the bin,such trucks can be loaded by driving the same lengthwise along one sideor the other of the bin and delivering the coal into the same from oneend of the bin or the other by means of a chute 36 extending from a sideoutlet 37 of therespective binlaterallvto the .side loading truck. Theside outlet 37 in this case is formed in the side deflector 27, as shownby dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2, and by full lines in Figs. 3 and gandthe flow of materialthrough this-outlet and overv the respective chuteis controlled by means of a rocking gate valve 38 whichis constructedand operated substantially like that employed for controlling theoutlets 19 at opposite depressed transverseends of the floor of the bin.

By thus providing a plurality of outlets at oppositedepressed ends ofthe arch shaped floor of the? bin and also the oppositealateral ends. ofthe bin, it is possible to simultaneously load coal or similarmateri'alinto a plurality of individualtrucksyor wagons, thereby pe-rmitting ofdischarging 1 the. coalfrcm the bin 1- to suit difierent.circumstances.

: .Insteadoflfoimingfthe lateral outletof the" binxin the-inclinedsurface 27 of thelateral rdefi-ec tor26 whichdirects the coal or other.materialtowardthe end outlets ,19, thesevlateral outletst39 may beformed in the sidewalls Y 16. of: thebina't the foot of outwardlyinclined surfaces lOYvvhich areformed on theside defiectorstland slopefrom the'topof the latter downwardly to the side outlets 39, as shown-,in; Fig; 5;: The material is; directed from each ofjthese sideoutletsby, means ofa chute 42 to aftsideloadingl truck l l and theescape of material through these side outlets is con- NJ trolled by agate valve4i3; 1

If desired, the coal may be delivered from the outlets, [19 at? the{depressed ends of they bottom to the trucks or wagons bymeans of useplainspouts orchutes, as shown at 301 in Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6.

bin of concrete, asshownin Figs. 2, iand.5, the side walls 44 and theadjacent inwardly inclined deflector45 may be mounted on'fabricatedmetal brackets 46 which are hung on v r 5.17.90 n'steadof forming theside wallslof the the opposite ends of theftransverse partition walls orbents 47 which carry the overhead railway tracks 11, as shown in Fig. 6.

These brackets can be readily removed at anytime if desired, to changethe form 015 the storage trestle or for enlarging thecapacity or addingfurthertracks, or for any other purpose. l 1 a From the foregoing :itwill be apparent that this trestle forstoringcoal or other ma: terialprovides the requisite transfer facility from rails to trucksand alsoprovides sulficient capacity, to meet unusual demands of trucks in caseof interruption in the supply ofmaterial to the bins by the railservices This construction also permits of giving adequate truckclearance below the bins so as to permit the trucks to be operated withfacility and to accomplish this by making the trestle as a whole,considerably lowerthah has been possible heretofore, thereby reducingthe cost ofinstallation accordingly. V It isto be understood that theinterior of these'bins may be covered with a wearing surface of concreteor other suitable mate I llO rial so as to avoid undue 'wearof the same.By means of this invention unduly high expense in construction and lossof capacity is avoided and as the main elements of this construe- L'tion are all made of concrete depreciation of the structure and expenseof upkeep are f avoided,inasmuch as repeated cleaning and painting ofthe structure is not necessary to I z preserve the trestle as is thecase when steel or a similar material is used for this purpose.

I claim as my invention A storage bin having transverse walls,longitudinal side walls connecting said transverse walls, and a bottomconnecting the lower ends of said walls and including a longitudinalarch connecting at its opposite depressed ends with the lower endsof-the transverse walls, and provided adjacent to its depressed end withoutlets for the material stored in the bin, said arch being provided onits upper side on opposite sides of its elevated central part withshoulders which face each other, and a deflector arranged above thecentral part of said arch and engaging its opposite ends against saidshoulders and having opposite inclines which slope toward said outlets.

In testimony whereof I hereby aflix my signature.

ARTHUR P. SKAER.

